Improved recijning--chair



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E. c. RANKS, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 87,111,

dated Februc/ry 23, 1869.

IMPROVE!) RECLINING-CHAIR The Schedule lreferred to in these LetterePatent and making part of the sama.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, E. C. BANKS, of Boston,in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts', have invented anImprovement in Reclining-Chairs; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing, taken in connection with the drawings-which accompany andform partof this specification, is a description of luy-inventionsuiiicient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

The invention relates particularly to the construction of that class ofreclining-chairsl` in each of which the seat-frame, the back-frame, thefoot-frame, andthe arms are jointed together, the seat moving slightlyforward, and the arms back, as the sitter moves from up- .right sittingposture to a reclined position, the improve- .a notched latch-bar,which rests, by gravity, againsta pin, with which its notches engage,the bar being hinged,

' at its front end, to the leg or foot-frame, in such man-v ner as to bemoved forward and back by the forward and back movements of this frame,Athe bar sliding freely forward or back, when raisedby a lever-arm atythe end of a shaft projecting through the stationary cross-piece at theside of the chair, (which shaft bears a knob, by turning which thelatch-bar is raised,) and dropping into engagement with the stop-pin atany point, when released from the hand of the occupant of the chair.

The drawings represent the frame-work of a reclining-chair embodying myinvention.

A represents a vertical section, showing the parts in place for a personto sit in upright position.

B is a vertical section, showing the chair f extended.

a denotes the stool, or stationary part of the chair,

composed of the legs l), side rails c, and cross-bars d.

c denotes the swinging frame, which supports the feet and legs whenthcchair is extended.

f is the swinging back, or back-frame.

The back is pivoted at bottom to the side rails c, by pins g, and theframe c to the rails c by pins hl, the frame fswinging freely back, andthe frame e freely forward, on their respective pivots. s

Just below each two pivot-pins g h, one of the side rails rof thechair-seat is hung to the frames e f, as seen at A, while above the pinsg h, the opposite ends of each arm It are hinged to the respectiveframes, as seen at A and B, the arms and seat, and the front and backframes having, by their connections, a simultaneous movement, as will bereadily understood, the chair, as respects the arrangement and movementof all these parts, being not materially unlike other reclinng-chairs incommon use.

To one of the side pieces of theY frame c, I hinge a notched or toothedlatch-baal, the bar swinging loosely on its hinge, and extending backthrough a slot in a guide-plate, m, through which 'extends a cross-.pinor shaft, a, which, projecting through the adjacent stationary siderail, has fixed upon its end a knob, o, by means of which-rotativemovement is imparted to the pin.

Upon this fpin the latch-bar rests by` gravity, the pin entering thenotch above it, and acting as a stop, to arrest longitudinal movementofthe latch-bar, thereby locking the back and leg-frames f e in anyposition into which they have been carried by movement cf theoccupant'of the chair.

The latch-bar is made thicker above the notches, or with a shoulder, p,against which the end of an arm, g, on the pin n, acts, to lift the barfrom engagement with the pin when the knob o is turned by the hand ofthe occupant, thelatch-bar sliding freely upon this arm when so raised,thereby enabling the chairto be more or less inclined by movement of thebody, the latch-bar falling, upon release ofthe knob, and arresting andlocking the chair in position, as before described, preventing movementof the frames e and f in` either direction.

It will be seen that this locking and releasing-mechanism is exceedinglysimple and effective, requiring less than'a quarter turn of the knob tolift and release the latch,.while it locks itself.

' The hinge-plate r, to which the latch-bar isjointed,

screws and loosen the plate. To obviate this, Iextend- 'astrap-piece, s,from the hinge-plate fr, and angular thereto, as seen at B, fasteningthis by a screw, (or by screws) which, extending into the frame-piece atnearly a right angle to the other screws, securely holds thehinge-plate,l so thatit cannot he'drawn off or loosened by strain.

1 claim, in combination with the swing-frames e j,

the shouldered notched latchfbar l, locking-pin n, and lifting-lever q,constructed and arranged to operate together, in the manner and for thepurpose substantially as described.

I also claim, in combination with the hinged lockingbar l, the angularstrap piece 'r s, applied substantially as shown and described.

E. 0. BANKS.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS GoULD, S. RIDDER.

